Hey everybody! Remember Jack Thompson? Is it kind of crazy that we’ve been through two generations of consoles since we’ve had to deal with that guy? The infamous anti-video game violence lawyer has been quite silent since his disbarment, but he’s about to re-enter the gaming public’s imagination in a BBC drama that dramatizes the creation and fallout of Grand Theft Auto.
The perfect actor has been picked up to play him as well. Bill Paxton — the only man to be murdered by a Predator, a Terminator, and an Alien — has been tapped to represent Jack Thompson, joining Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe who will be playing Grand Theft Auto mastermind Sam Houser.
Paxton is a wonderful choice for Thompson because he has not only starred and died in some of the most ridiculously violent science fiction movies of all time, he also has a solid resume of television credits to his name. He’s famous enough to be recognizable, especially to 80s and 90s filmgoers, but he’s not super famous enough to steal the show.
He also has a grasp on the man he is playing. Speaking with Deadline, he perfectly characterizes Jack Thompson.
“He got Howard Stern kicked off the radio and took on 2 Live Crew. There’d be a gag order and he’d still go on talk shows. He would write these hateful letters to people he was litigating. He just got too emotionally caught up in it.”
I’ll need to find a way to get the BBC out here in Japan. I’m pretty psyched to watch this. Filming begins on April 20 and is based on the David Kushner book Jacked: The Outlaw Story of Grand Theft Auto.
Source: Deadline
Via: Eurogamer